Join Jayce's Journey: Overcoming Leukemia

Just a few short weeks ago Jayce was your typically college Freshman attending the University of Arkansas. The week of February 24, 2025 this all changed when Jayce was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia & Myeloid Sarcoma, just a few short weeks after his 19th birthday.

This GoFundMe is being set up to support Jayce, Tiffany, and River. With an extended time away from work, the unknown medical bills, and a potential transfer to MD Anderson Hospital in Texas (including travel and accommodations) many of you have graciously requested how you may be able to support financially.

And the biggest help of all, is everyone’s continued support, prayers, & outreach during this time. Jayce’s story is reaching so many. He sees everyone’s positive messages and he’s a fighter. Thank you to everyone’s continued support - we will continue to keep everyone updated on his journey and provide any additional ways to support going forward.

Below is the update Tiffany initially shared on FB.

This is a post that no mother ever wants to make and I’ve had the hardest time finding the words for it.

On Tuesday, Jayce was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. AML is a very aggressive and rapid form of leukemia and with his white blood count through the roof (highest some doctors said they have seen) the approach to his treatment has been very fast and aggressive. He was in the ICU for the first 24 hours. Now that he’s on a regular floor and we are in a routine, it feels like we have a little time to breathe. AML typically tends to be disgnosed in the older generation. The average age for someone to be diagnosed with AML is 69 years old. The younger patients like Jayce are the ones who tend to respond better to treatment. So thankfully, we have Jayces age and his previous good health on our side.

I wanted to give Jayce time to tell his friends before I made it public. But let me start by saying that I can’t even begin to explain how much I appreciate the HUGE outpouring of love, support, time, prayers, food, and gifts that we have received. Everyone from friends, family, friends who are family, coworkers, bosses, to complete strangers who have just got word and are praying for him. I could never begin to thank everyone enough!! We are truly blessed!!! From Sierra flying in and staying around the clock with him a few days. To his girlfriends entire family for being with him all day every day the past few days. To my friends who have come and sat with him so he wasn’t alone and brought us lunch and dinner to make sure were eating. To my boss that flew me up to Fayetteville Monday so I could be there quicker. To my brother who gets in tomorrow from Oregon. I will forever be grateful for you guys!!! ❤️❤️

Now, for those wanting to know details, here is what has happened this week.

MONDAY 2/24 - Jayce went to the medical center on campus at University of Arkansas for a doctor’s appointment that he had scheduled to take a look at a swollen lymph node on his neck. The weekend prior (Valentine’s weekend) he had a small lymph node pop up. He had been sick with a cold or the flu, and his wisdom teeth were also coming in so we kind of just chalked it up to that. It never went away that week and continued to get bigger. His other side swelled up as well. They tested him for mono and strep and both came back negative. They ran his white blood count and it was 230. They immediately sent him to the emergency room at the local hospital. By the time he got there his white blood count was up to 253. So it was rapidly increasing. Your white count should be below 12, and the doctor said with an infection the highest should be about 20 to 30. They decided to transfer him by ambulance 3 hours away down to UAMS in Little Rock, for better treatment.

TUESDAY 2/25 - Sierra took a redeye flight and made it to Little Rock by Tuesday morning. We got to an emergency room in UAMS by 6:00am. At this time, his white count was up to 278. They knew they had to move very fast so the next few hours was nothing but testing and procedures. They did a CT scan. Followed by a bone marrow biopsy (which is extremely painful). Then they put a cath in his neck down to his heart. They then did a procedure called Leukocytapheresis. This is a procedure that the doctor said they only do about three times a year. She said it’s only used on the most severe cases. They pull all his blood out of his body 10% at a time, cycle it through a machine, try to pull as many white blood cells out as possible, and then cycle the blood back into his body. Before they did this procedure, they suspected his white count was over 300. The machine is only to buy some time before they can start chemo. They then moved him to ICU. He has lymph nodes swollen pretty much all over his upper body. Including a mass in the middle of his chest that is pushing on a main artery. We are hoping that is just a giant lymph node but we won’t know more until the next scan.

WEDNESDAY 2/26 - they started procedures first thing in the morning because they wanted to try and get chemo started as early as possible. They needed to do an echo on his heart, a biopsy of his lymph node on his neck, and then another round of Leukocytapheresis. The idea was to try to get his white count down as much as possible before they started chemo. With how rapid it moves, it had already replenished itself some after the first round. The idea was to start chemo by midday, but we didn’t have a bed available on the oncology floor until later that evening. Once we got settled into our new room, they started his first round of chemo at 9 o’clock that night. It’s a cocktail of multiple drugs. The oncologist said it’s a very aggressive chemo and not one that he could use on an older patient. Unfortunately, since it does start at 9, and they have to change his medicine out, or monitor him, they tend to keep him up a lot of the night.

THURSDAY 2/27 - Thursday was thankfully a quieter day for Jayce. The only procedure that was done was a PICC line put in. Other than that, it was just been the typical blood draws. He has been doing quite a bit of sleeping as he is obviously exhausted. His friend Barrett came to visit him, which I know lifted his spirits. He had his next round of chemo start at 9 o’clock again last night!

FRIDAY 2/28 - on the agenda today is to finally get the cath out of his neck, which he is super excited about because it is painful to sleep!! Other than that it’s just resting until chemo tonight. He can finally get out of his room today if he wants to go for a walk or get some sunshine!!

As chemo progresses, he will need blood transfusions and for now he will be in the hospital at least the next 3 to 4 weeks depending on how he responds. He will have another bone marrow biopsy in three weeks and that will tell us a little bit more about what’s going on after treatment.

Thank you again for all the love and support. Please send all the good thoughts and prayers his way. I will keep everyone updated. It’s been a whirlwind, physically mentally and emotionally for all of us. I read and TRULY appreciate every single message, but if I don’t get back to you right away, please don’t take offense to it. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers, and know that Jayce is strong, he is healthy and he’s ready to fight this!!!! If you could also keep River in your thoughts and prayers as well as it is hard for her to watch her brother go through this!!!